The weekend is over, but also so is Monday, so that is a plus. I'm going down through the dusty corridor to potions; it is my last class for the day. I make my way to my desk at the back of the class. I set my heavy pile of books down on the paint-chipping table and plop down onto the wooden stool. I lean my body onto the table and stretch my back out. I don't understand why Hogwarts students don't use backpacks. I mean, I'm going to have some serious back problems by the time I graduate. 

Professor Snape clears his throat, signaling the start of class. I lift my head off the desk and open up my textbook. When I had written Andromeda telling her that I had been moved up in potions, she sent me the different textbook I needed even though I explained that I had one I was already using. She writes me often, along with little clips of Dora's messy writing, asking about any new hot gossip that she might be missing out on now that she is no longer at Hogwarts. Her letters are often sent with sweets or random things like hair clips and a new sweater as the air starts to change. 

Professor Snape draws on and on about his disappointment with how people did on the test that we took last class, going over every single question. Of course, though, he takes time to point out how I am the only one not to fail the test but to get a perfect grade. The older students flip around to glare at me, and it causes my cheeks to heat up and for me to shrink in my seat at the attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the proud smile painted on Fred's face. I think I'm half asleep when the class ends, and I quickly pick up my things so that the older students do not trample me as they climb over each other to be the first person out. As I leave the room, I hear some students whispering and snickering behind me. As I walk up the stairs, the snickering becomes louder and louder. I try and turn around to figure out why but still can't. I'm walking through the hall, and I'm finally able to turn around in time to catch someone pointing at my skirt. I stop and crane my neck over my shoulder, and look down at the back of my skirt. The back of my gray skirt is covered in an extremely dark red liquid. I dash to the nearest bathroom, not caring about Moaning Myrtle because at least that means no one will come in. I rush into a stall and pull my stockings and knickers down. It is all covered in blood. I look at my legs and see no cuts or anything that could be causing the blood. Hesitantly, I grab a piece of toilet paper and wipe. It comes away with more blood, and the shocking site causes my hands to start to shake. I fall back onto the toilet. Am I dying?

There is a loud knock on the stall door, "Go away!" I call out.

"It's me," the person says. "It's Fred," he clarifies.

"What do you need? You know you aren't even supposed to be in here, right?"

"I was wondering if you were okay. I saw you running," he explains.

"I'm fine, go away," I rush out.

"No, I know somethings wrong, and I know my younger prat of a brother isn't going to check on you. So what's wrong?" I hear his back slide down the stall door until he sits on the floor. 

"Please, just go away; I'm fine," I say as I hurriedly pull my knickers and stockings back up, causing a hole in the waistband.

"I think I know what is wrong. Mum told me about it. Are you bleeding?" he questions.

His voice causes me to pause, "Yes," I whisper.

I see him stand up through the crack at the bottom of the door, "It's ok. May I take you to Madam Pomprey?" 

"Ok," I respond as I exit the door. He ties his sweater around my waist as I wash my hands. Like he said, he walks with me all the way to the infirmary. 

I pause at the doorway as he goes and speaks with Madam Pomprhey. 

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Weasley," she pats him on the back as she walks towards me. He gives me a soft smile and leaves. 

"Come here, Miss Nior," she walks towards a bed hidden by a curtain. "What is happening is nothing to cause alarm. Here are some of your extra clothes. The elves brought them for me," she explains. She holds up a flat plastic square and starts to open it. "This is a pad; it has sticky on the back, and you stick it to your knickers, and these wrap around to the back. I will leave you to change and you can put this on. When you are done, call for me dear," she says as she closes the curtain behind her.

I quickly undress and use the tissues on the nightstand to wipe myself down and throw them away before changing. I stick the pad to my knickers as she instructed, then throw the dirty clothes in the hammer as I redress. "Ok!" I call out as I open the curtain.

"Ok, dear," she says as she walks in and has a small chalkboard in her hands. "What just happened is you have started your menstrual cycle or your period," she explains as she sits down and starts to draw an image on the chalkboard. "This is a uterus. It is the female reproduction organ. You have teeny tiny eggs in these. They are called your ovaries," she points to a part of the picture. "They are inside your body, so you can't see them unless you have a very special muggle camera or some certain spells that the wizarding world doctors and nurses use. After a certain age, around each month, an egg will go down into the fallopian tubes, and your body will make a lining in your uterus. Typically, your body will shed the egg and the lining in what is called your period. When your body doesn't shed this, is when a baby is made," she starts to draw another picture off to the side of the first. 

"This is the male reproductive organs called the penis and the scrotum," she explains as she points to the new picture. My eyes get big as she explains all of the details just like she did before. 

She draws a third picture, "This is the vulva, it is female, and you can see this unlike your uterus. It is normally covered in some amount, but if you spread your labia, you can see. You have the hole you pee from, the urethra, just like males, but you also have another hole called the vagina, which leads to the vaginal canal. At the top of the vaginal canal is the cervix, which is the bottom and the entrance to the uterus. Typically, to create a baby, you would have sex. A male would insert his penis into the vagina, and stimulation can cause ejaculation, the release of sperm. The sperm goes up into the cervix and to the egg in the fillopian tubes and will fertilize the egg, it than moves down into the uterus and will implant itself in the utern wall. There are other reasons to engage in sex besides wanting to have children. When that is the case, you want to use some type of protection, such as a condom or birth control. Birth control typically comes in a pill form," she stops as though she is realizing something and then gets up. She returns with a tin foil square, a banana, and another package. "This is a condom. When using one, you want to check the expiration date and the packaging for any wholes. If you don't see anything wrong, you can open it and use it," she says, opening the package and taking out a circle. "You want to do the same thing with the condom itself. You roll this over the penis so that it would catch all of the semen," she explains as she uses the banana to demistrate. "I also grabbed a tampon," she opens up another package, and it has a thicker stick with a skinnier stick coming out the end. "This can also be used to catch menstrual blood. Unlike a pad, it goes into your body to catch the blood. If you want to spread your legs, you can use a mirror to help you see what you are doing. You insert this into the vagina at an angle than you want to press the plunger," she presses the plunger, and it causes a white piece of cotton to come out. "You would pull the plunger out and this will stay in, you should never keep it in for more than eight hours. Most girls like to stick with pads for a while before trying tampons, and they can take some practice. If it's sitting right, you shouldn't be able to feel it," she gets up and throws away the items. "I'll have the elves deliver some extra menstrual products and painkillers. Sometimes, while on your menstrual cycle, you can have some cramps and sometimes headaches." She turns to me,"If you have any questions, you can ask Minerva or me anytime. Please don't be scared to come to us if you need anything." 

"I don't have any questions," I respond. I'm honestly just still trying to understand the information I just learned before I can even think of a question.

"Ok, dear," she gives a soft smile, and I head back to my common room, wondering what the heck just happened.

Hello loves! I wanted to give a little bit of an explanation for why I decided to write this chapter, as I know that not maybe everyone will love it or agree with how I may have written it or that I wrote it at all. I decided to write this chapter to show the lack of education that children, especially girls, experience around these topics. Many girls start their period and have a very similar reaction to Syria, as they have no idea what is happening to their bodies. From what I've seen and experienced, kids who don't live in a stable home or environment are less likely to be educated on these topics or be educated too late. When I had the idea for Redmancy, I atomically knew that while a lot of the plot would be centered around Syria's and Fred's story and the war, I wanted to also focus on the different struggles that a girl faces while growing up, especially girls that didn't have an automatic person come up in their heads of a person they could talk to about what would have been a new, scary, and likely uncomfortable topic in the beginning. I know I may lose some readers for this chapter, but it is more than worth it for the people who may resonate with Syria in this chapter in some way.